Page 30 of Now That It’s You (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #5)

I t was nearly ten o’clock by the time Meg led Kyle through the front door of her house, flipping on lights as she moved through the foyer.

It occurred to her that she probably shouldn’t be doing this.

After almost a week of avoiding him so they wouldn’t accidentally tumble into bed again and muck things up, here she was inviting him back to her house well after dark.

But hell, he’d been a huge help to her. She couldn’t have done all that food prep without him. The least she could do was offer him a piece of cake.

“Watch your step,” she called, making a wide arc around the cactus that separated the entry from the living room. “If I’m gone more than a couple hours, Floyd likes to punish me by hiding behind the pot and attacking my ankles when I come through the door.”

Sure enough, a fuzzy orange rocket came flying toward her, and Meg dodged to the side to avoid the flurry of teeth and claws.

Kyle wasn’t as lucky.

“Woah,” he said, jumping back as Floyd slashed at him with one paw. “You weren’t kidding.”

Meg tried to muffle a laugh as Kyle continued his kitty dodge dance. “Sorry, did he get you?”

“He missed.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll settle down in a second. Make yourself at home while I grab the cake.”

She gestured to the barstools and Kyle took a seat. Meg saw him cast a wary eye at Floyd, who was twining his lanky body around the leg of the barstool.

“Hey, buddy,” Kyle said, reaching down to scratch the cat behind the ear.

Floyd hissed and took a swipe at him. Kyle drew his hand back and looked at the cat for a moment.

“You’re an asshole.”

Floyd cocked his head to the side, then meowed and jumped up on the adjacent barstool. He sat down and eyed Kyle with apparent interest. Kyle eyed him back, probably bracing for another sneak attack.

Meg laughed and turned to pull a massive cake plate from the fridge. She set it on the counter and whisked the lid off to show him. “I haven’t cut into it yet. How about I just send you home with the whole thing? This lid snaps on and off easily, so it travels well.”

Kyle raised an eyebrow at her. “You’re not going to share a piece with me?”

She shook her head. “You earned the whole thing with all the work you did.”

“Then did I also earn the right to ask you to slice it up right now and join me for a piece?”

She hesitated, not wanting to be rude. She did kind of like his plan, though .

“All right,” she said, pulling a knife from her butcher block. She glanced over at Kyle, who was making another attempt to pet Floyd.

Floyd growled and flattened his ears.

Kyle pulled his hand back and stared at the cat. “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”

Floyd closed his eyes and started to purr.

“So that’s your deal, huh, cat?” Kyle said. “You like it when I’m not nice to you?”

Still purring, Floyd bumped his head on Kyle’s arm.

Meg laughed and flopped a second piece of cake on a plate. “You’ve finally figured out Floyd’s psychological oddity?”

“So that’s really it? He hates people who are nice to him, but he loves it when you’re mean.”

“I suppose so.”

“Huh,” Kyle said, folding his hands on the counter. “Maybe I should have tried that with you. I was reaching that point until you FaceTimed me the other day.”

“You were planning to call and leave insults on my voicemail?”

“Figured it was worth a shot.”

Meg handed him a fork. “Eat your cake, goofball.”

She shoved a plate at him, along with a cloth napkin printed with pink and brown polka dots.

Putting the lid back on the cake plate, she stuffed it back into the fridge and reminded herself not to let him leave without it.

With her own plate in hand, she walked around the bar to claim the vacant barstool on the other side of Floyd.

“So, speaking of pets, tell me about your dog,” Meg said as she forked up a bite of cake.

“Bindi,” he said. “I’ve had her about six months. Got her from a rescue group in eastern Oregon.”

“You said she’s an Australian kelpie?”

“Yes. A herding dog on crack. Have you ever seen one?”

She shook her head and swallowed her cake. “No, but I googled after you told me. I watched a YouTube video of a kelpie herding a bunch of sheep together and then running across their backs to get to the other side of the flock.”

Kyle laughed. “I’m weirdly flattered to know you googled my dog.”

“I might have also Facebook stalked you. Speaking of which, I didn’t realize you’d unfriended me.”

“Sorry about that.” Kyle speared his own piece of cake. “Matt gave everyone a guilt trip about it that first Thanksgiving after you split. It just seemed easier to cut ties.”

“It’s okay, I’m not mad.” Meg gave a dismissive wave of her fork before spearing her cake again. “I suppose, under the circumstances, we probably shouldn’t be friends now.”

“Real friends or Facebook friends?”

“I meant Facebook. Seems like the sort of thing your parents would have a problem with.”

“Maybe,” he agreed, and Meg tried not to let it sting.

“So, back to the dog,” she said brightly, and Kyle looked relieved.

“When I told an Australian friend I’d adopted one, he gave me the most incredulous look and said, ‘You got a kelpie, mate? As a pet ? Isn’t that a bit like buying a tractor?”

Meg laughed. “So they’re more like farm equipment?”

“I guess so. A tractor you can snuggle with.”

“That sounds—different.”

“A switch from Karma, anyway. No more lazy Lab napping in front of the fireplace. It’s always go, go, go, go with Bindi.”

“I’d love to meet her sometime.”

Kyle shrugged. “If you want, you can go out to the truck and say hello.”

“What?” Meg set her fork down mid-bite. “Why didn’t you bring her in?”

He laughed. “The way you avoided me the last week I figured I was lucky just to get myself through the door. Didn’t want to jinx things by inviting my dog in.”

“Ah, see, that’s where you misjudged.” Meg grinned and dabbed up a cake crumb with her fingertip. “I’d have let you in no problem if you had a dog with you. Besides, you just helped me chop a billion pounds of vegetables. You can invite a whole pack of dogs in if you want.”

“What about Floyd?”

They both looked at Floyd, who twitched one ear and gave a low growl. “Floyd loves dogs,” Meg said.

“I’m sure he does.”

“Go get Bindi,” she insisted.

“All right.” Kyle polished off his last bite of cake and hopped off the barstool. Meg followed him to the door, more eager than she had any right to be about meeting a dog.

“I have to warn you, she might be a little nutty at first,” Kyle said. “I stopped at the park and let her run around for a couple minutes on the way here, but she might get excited and piddle when I first let her out.”

“I’ll try to keep my toes out of the way.”

Meg stepped out onto her lawn and waited while Kyle moved down the path leading to his truck at the curb.

He’d parked beneath the streetlight, and Meg could see smudges of dog snot on the windows.

Bindi must’ve heard his footsteps because she popped her head up and looked out the truck window.

Her big, black ears swiveled like furry beacons as her black eyes stared out at him from the mask of brown over her long, black snout.

“She’s adorable!” Meg called as Bindi stood on her hind legs with her paws on the truck door, poking her nose out through the open window.

“She loves going for rides,” Kyle said as he popped the door open. “She hates summertime when it’s too hot for her to be stuck in the truck, so she goes everywhere now that the weather’s cooled off a little. Come on, girl!”

As Kyle swung open the truck door, Bindi leapt out onto the grassy patch beneath the door, her tail swishing frantically back and forth. Meg dropped to her knees on the lawn and patted the ground in front of her.

“Come on, girl! Come see me!”

Bindi pricked her ears, then scampered toward her on muscular brown legs that moved with uncanny speed. Meg opened her arms wide and Bindi scurried into them, a quivering bundle of tail wags and sloppy licks.

“Hi, there!” Meg said, rubbing her hands down the short, black fur. “Welcome! I love doggies and you’re such a pretty one.”

Bindi thumped her tail in agreement and collapsed onto her back, an invitation for Meg to rub her belly. Meg complied, looking up to see Kyle coming up the walkway toward them.

“Oh, my goodness!” Meg said, tickling little circles on the dog’s belly. “Aren’t you the sweetest thing? Who’s the sweetest thing? It’s you, that’s right!”

Kyle stood over them, looking down with a smile. “I’d like the record to reflect that my pet was much more accepting of you than yours has been toward me.”

She grinned and planted kiss on Bindi’s forehead. Bindi lolled her tongue to the side in ecstasy. “We’re already best friends.”

“Such a hussy,” Kyle chided. “You, too, Bindi.”

Meg laughed. “You’re just jealous I didn’t greet you like this.”

“Guilty as charged. I do love a good belly rub.”

Meg stood up and called the little dog to her. “Come on, sweetie. I just made a batch of homemade dog biscuits for the Humane Society. Let’s get you some.”

Kyle followed her into the kitchen and watched her grab the large Tupperware container where she’d stashed the biscuits. Prying it open, she watched Floyd stand on his barstool and arch his back. Glaring at Bindi, he gave a halfhearted hiss, then jumped down and bumped her with his nose.

“See?” Meg said, watching as Floyd twined himself between Bindi’s legs, while Bindi made a desperate attempt to sniff Floyd’s butt. “Told you they’d be fast friends.”

Floyd took a swipe at Bindi’s tail, then head-butted the dog’s ribcage. Meg could hear Floyd purring from five feet away, and it was clear Bindi was too mystified to do any chasing.

“I’ll be damned,” Kyle said. “So Floyd likes dogs and insults. Good to know.”

Meg handed Bindi a biscuit. The dog took a bite of before dropping the rest on the floor in front of Floyd. Floyd sniffed it, then nibbled the corner. “Here,” Meg said, handing another biscuit to the dog. “You keep this one for yourself.”